Top 5 Sports Stories

Len Berman
Emmy Award winning sportscaster and New York Times Bestselling Author

Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for May 12, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.

1. Quick Hits

* Miami eliminates Boston in game five, 97-87.
* Oklahoma City easily takes a three games to two lead over Memphis, 99-72.
* Former Michigan basketball star Robert "Tractor" Traylor dies of a heart attack at the age of 34.
* Former Mets clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels was indicted on 21 counts including the theft of $2.3 million of memorabilia owned by the team.
* The Players Championship gets underway today at TPC Sawgrass.

2. Un-Social Media

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Manchester United's Darron Gibson. He started a Twitter account and ended it 97 minutes later. He was pilloried by his "fans." One tweeted, "You are an abysmal excuse for a footballer." Now comes Mets catcher Josh Thole. He also thought Twitter would be a good way to reach out. He's been struggling at the plate, and he's called the reaction on Twitter "ruthless." Somebody tweeted that he should "die." So Thole is now also a former-Twitter guy. What's wrong with fans today? Do the Internet and 24-hour sports radio embolden them to say or write anything? There was a time when a fan yelling "kill the ump," was as nasty as things got. As harsh as that sounds, it seems pretty tame by comparison.

3. Role Models

When you think of Sean Avery of the Rangers, you think of a pest. You somehow don't think of him as being a spokesperson for marriage rights. But here he is supporting New Yorkers for Marriage Equality.

He is said to be the first New York athlete to take such a stance. A prominent hockey agent, Todd Reynolds, joined the fray, tweeting, "Legal or not, it (gay marriage) will always be wrong." Wherever you stand on the issue, (I happen to support it), the hockey world seems to be a curious forum to debate it, eh?

4. Let's Go to the Videotape

There's a sports video making the rounds. It's not new, but suddenly it's gone viral. Several of you have passed it on. It's basically the greatest moments in sports all rolled into one.

Amidst all the crap in the sports world these days, the video serves to remind us why we love sports in the first place. Enjoy.

5. It Still Ain't Over

How many people can you name, where the mere mention of his first name makes you smile? How many that you've never heard a discouraging word about, ever? How many people can you truly call great, or one of a kind, or iconic? The answer to all of the above is Yogi Berra. Happy 86th Yogi, and many more. You da' man.